What lies beneath the surface
by SteelBlastBee
Summary: It has been nearly a year since Shen's defeat. All appears well, until Tigress is accused of murder. Tigress is forced to run as her friends try to clear her name. Will Po and the others find the real killer? Who seems to have known Tigress long ago...
1. Dominoes and Discoveries

The weather was calm, sun shined down into the Valley of Peace. It was a normal day in the Jade Palace for Po and the Furious Five. It had nearly been a year since Po had defeated Shen. All appeared well in China.

Today, Po was training his young students out in the court yard. Tigress was sitting nearby on the roof, feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. Her eyes were closed as she felt the world around her. She breathed in deeply, feeling the warm breeze and the sun on her fur.

Tigress wondered when was the last time she had felt at peace like this. She knew she was suppose to be meditating but she couldn't resist just sitting there and feeling the world go by around her. Ever since Po had defeated Shen, Tigress had seemed to be in a much better mood than before. She wondered why.

Perhaps it was because there was finally peace in China. There was no one like Shen they had to worry about anymore. Only a few bandits and pirates every now and then, but nothing as big as Shen was. Tigress hated him with all her heart for the cruel things he had done, especially for what he had done to Po.

Po had explained to her and the others what Shen had did to his people and how he had managed to find Inner peace.

Shen had destroyed his life when he was just an infant, separating him from his family and destroying his village and than, years later Shen had nearly killed Po with his weapon. Tigress hated Shen for all that and more. Part of her wondered what would have happened if she had gotten to Po in time or had been able to convince him to stay behind in the jail.

Who was she kidding? _Nothing_ would have made him stay behind.

Part of her wondered how he had been able to find Inner peace. Po had explained to them that all he had to do was something Shen could never and never learned to do, simply just let go of the past.

Tigress opened her eyes. That was the past, she told herself. She didn't need to think about what happened before all that. All that mattered was that Po had survived the first shot and had been able to defeat Shen. Tigress closed her eyes again, remembering Master Oogway's words of wisdom. She couldn't keep dwelling on the past, wondering what could have been, nor could she think about what will be. All that mattered now was what happening now, that is why it is called the present.

Every once in a while Tigress would be pulled out of her thoughts by the noises down below. She would occasionally glance down to watch Po train his students. She watched as his students began to spar one another. Suddenly one of the shouted out,

"Hey! Look what I found!" he said, holding up a large familiar box. Tigress cocked her head and watched as the bunny took out a handful of yellow dominoes.

"Hey what are those?" another student asked, interested in the small yellow pieces.

"Oh, that's the game Tigress used to play when she was a cub." Po explained.

"Cool! I wanna play!" one student said.

"Me too!" said another. Soon it was clear that everyone wanted to play.

"Okay, okay. We'll play, but remember, it suppose to be a game of patience." Po said, but already his students began lining up the yellow pieces. Tigress watched with interest as one of Po's students knocked down a piece, causing all the pieces to fall down. Tigress wondered when it was the last time she had played this game.

Po watched as his students began knocking down the pieces. He tried to explain to them the importance of patience when a chill ran up his spine. Moments later he heard a soft thud behind him. He turned around and saw that Tigress had suddenly appeared behind him.

He knew she had been sitting on the roof earlier, part of him kinda wondered what she had doing up there instead of training like the others. Po smiled and was about to say hello to her when one of his students noticed her presence.

"Master Tigress!" one of Po's students cried out, getting the attention of the others. Tigress smiled slightly as the students surrounded her. She looked over that the fallen dominos, then past the open gate of the court yard. Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

"May I?" Tigress asked, holding her hand out in front of one of the students who was holding a handful of dominos.

"You're gonna play? Sweet!" he exclaimed before handing Tigress the pieces. Tigress smiled before walking up to the fallen dominos.

"Watch the master," Po said as he and his students stood a few feet away, waiting for her to begin. Tigress smiled slightly before quickly scooping up the fallen dominos.

"Hey, what ya guys doing?" Mantis asked, who was sitting on Monkey's shoulder as they walked up to them.

"We're watching Master Tigress play!" one of the bunnies said excitedly.

"Tigress? Playing? This we gotta see." Mantis said. Moments later Tigress leaped up into the air, gracefully placing dominos on the ground, while Po and his students watched in awe. Tigress picked up more dominos and quickly putting them into place and soon Viper and Crane showed up and began to watch as well. Tigress put more pieces into place while quickly glancing up at her friends before quietly whispering, "This is for those who wait," smirking slightly as she did.

"What is she doing?" Viper asked as Tigress quickly began to place dominos on top of each other. The others shrugged in response.

"Maybe it's a new technique!" suggested one of Po's students. Tigress ignored their conversation as she carefully put the pieces in place. She jumped over the dominos, placing the yellow dominos perfectly into place, only millimeters from the stacked dominoes. After a few minutes, her creation began to take shape.

"Is that what I think it is?" Crane asked as Tigress swiftly began stacking dominoes into a tall familiar structure before creating the circular frame of her creation.

"How is she doing that?" exclaimed Mantis as he and the others watched in complete awe.

"Oh my gosh! Can she be any awesomer?" Po exclaimed as his students awed in amazement. Tigress ignored all their comments as she got into the flow of the game, carefully and swiftly putting more dominos into place before jumping to scoop up more dominoes. Within a half hour, Tigress had completed her creation.

"How…did you do that?" Po asked in amazement, "Is that even possible?" Tigress smirked slightly at her friend's amazement. There she stood, completing one side of the Yin Yang symbol and around her, within the symbol of peace was the Valley of Peace itself, carefully constructed with stacked dominos. She had put nearly every detail she could using the yellow dominoes.

"Look! She even put all the bridges!"

"Look! It's the Jade Palace!" one of Po's students exclaimed, pointing excitedly at tall structure almost in the center.

"Yeah, stairs and all," Po commented with a smile, he could even see that she had somehow created the cliff that housed the Sacred Peace Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. Even the cave where Shifu had learned to find Inner Peace. "Okay, how did you do that?" Po asked, somewhat baffled.

"Patience." Tigress answered calmly. "To be honest, this is my first attempt of creating the Valley." she said, which was followed by a 'whoa' of awe from the students.

"Master Tigress is amazing!" a female student said. Tigress smiled slightly. She took pride in her creation.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Tigress said with a smirk. Everyone watched as Tigress was about to knock down the first piece, suddenly her expression changed. Her ears twitched, she looked up, ignoring the other's confused expressions. Her ears twitched again, almost as if she sensed there was someone nearby.

She could hear the familiar almost inaudible sound of wood straining.

Suddenly Tigress leaped up into the air just as two thin black streaks flew through the air, landing with a dull 'thud', digging into the stone ground where Tigress had been standing moments before, promptly knocking over the domino Tigress had intended to knock down before. They could all see what it was, a pair of black arrows sticking out of the ground.

It only took moments for Po and the rest of the five to assess the situation. Someone had tried to kill Tigress.

Suddenly without warning, a dark blur jumped out of the shadows and straight at Tigress, who was still in mid-air. She reacted quickly, blocking an attack with her arms before kicking the hooded attacker in the chest, sending him flying towards the ground. The others watched as the hooded attacker spun around in mid-air before gracefully landing on all fours, meters away from them.

"Someone is attacking Master Tigress!" one of Po's students exclaimed before six more hooded figures appeared in front of them. Po and the others quickly reacted, placing themselves in between the students and the six.

"Stay back, this does not concern you five." the tallest seemed to warn them as Tigress began to fight the hooded attacker, a bow was slung across his back. The one who had spoken appeared to be the leader of the group, in his hand he held a hammer.

"Well that's our friend over there," Crane said.

"And if you mess with her, you mess with us." Po said as he and the others got into fighting stances.

"Very well," the leader said before they all look out there weapons.

Tigress swiftly dodged her attacker's blows as her friends began to battle the hooded enemies. She kicked her attacker in the chest, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed him around his neck and pinned him to the wall.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Tigress demanded as her attacker's hood fell back. To her surprise, her attacker was an orange tiger like her.

"Wow…I can't believe how much you've changed…" he said, grabbing her wrists with his paws, "Then again, you probably don't even remember who I am." he said. Now that he mentioned it, his brown eyes did seem familiar to Tigress.

"Who are you." Tigress demanded him again. Instead of answering her, the tiger, who appeared to be a few years older than her, stared at her with those brown eyes of his. They somehow made him appear younger than he looked, at the same time it was clear that he had seen a lot in his life. Tigress noticed a few scars on his face. His eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to figure something out.

"Answer me!" Tigress growled, frustrated at his silence.

"Tell me it's not true, Tigress." He said in an almost pleading voice. His brown eyes seemed to fill with sadness and pain. Tigress stared at him, confused. What was he talking about? She thought as he tighten his grip on her wrist.

"Please tell me it's not true." he said again.

"Tell you what?" Tigress demanded, frustrated. The tiger seemed to stare past her at the clashing warriors. His expression showed no emotion, but she could see it in his eyes. He seemed as if he were conflicting over something. Finally after what seemed like hours, he looked back at her, staring her straight into her ember eyes.

"That you're…a murderer…"


	2. Masks and Runaways

OKAY! with the not so boring beginning of mah fanfic and series type thing down, here's where the interesting things begin.

_What Lies beneath the surface_ is part one of this yet to be named series(_**PLZ HELP**_ MEH OUT WITH A NAME SOMEBODY!) This fanfic is mostly gonna be about Tigress and is gonna go back and forth among Po and the Furious five(four?), Tigress, and Tigress's pursuers, the Youxiu houwei. All the while Tigress is on the run from the Youxiu houwei who believe that she is a murderer.

Btw _Youxiu houwei_(sorry dunno how to put the accents) means _Elite guard_ in smiple chinese. I was trying to think of a name for a team who captures criminals and started thinking about Transformers Animated and though _hey why dun i call them the Elite guard?_ and so I type it in google translate and there ya have it!

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><p>Tigress's ember eyes widened. Had she just heard what she thought she just heard? Before she could ask the tiger anything, she heard someone cry out behind her,<p>

"Boon!" Suddenly she felt a sharp pain on the side of her head. The next thing she knew she was in the air. She slide on the ground a few feet away. Her head was spinning as black specks appeared in her vision, but she couldn't feel a thing.

"You alright, Boon?" she could see a tall hooded figure standing next to the tiger whose name was Boon. He appeared to be holding a hammer, similar to Master Thundering Rhino, but smaller and slightly different.

"I'm fine and are you insane?" Boon yelled, appearing enraged by the hooded figure.

"Boon, she could have _killed_ you!" the hooded figure hissed in anger.

"You don't know that! You don't know her like I do, she couldn't have done it, Bao!" Boon argued.

"The last time you saw her was when she was just a cub, of course it wouldn't have seemed as if she could have done it!" the one named Bao argued. As the two argued, Tigress slowly got up to her feet. Bao noticed her get up and lunged at her. Tigress quickly jumped out of the way. Her head had stopped spinning but it was throbbing slightly.

_Who are you calling a murder?_ Tigress thought as she got into a defensive stance. The two circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move. Suddenly Po shouted out, getting everyone's attention.

"WAIT!" he yelled, "It's perfect." he said, standing next to the yellow dominoes that were in the shape of the Valley of Peace within a Yin Yang Symbol. Everyone paused to look at the magnificent creation. All the dominos had fallen into place, creating the streams and fields and much more of the Valley of Peace.

"Whoa…now THAT is awesome…" one of the smaller hooded figures said in awe. Tigress blinked in confusion. They were all so interested in the dominoes she had put together, half of them believed that she was a killer and yet her friends did not even know the real reason why these hooded figures were there for her. Suddenly Bao tackled Tigress, sending them both flying into the masterpiece of dominoes. Almost everyone mouths gapped in shock at the destroyed masterpiece.

"DUDE! You destroyed it!" Po said, before realizing that he had tackled Tigress. "Tigress!"

Tigress growled and quickly got to her feet. She stayed crouched on the ground in a predatory stance. Bao got down on all fours as well and began to circle her again in the same predatory stance.

Just as both predators were about to lunged at one another, a familiar red panda suddenly appeared in between both of them, stopping them both dead in their tracks.

"Master Shifu!" Po and the rest of the Furious five said simultaneously.

"What is the meaning of this, Bao?" Shifu demanded, pointing Oogway's staff at the hooded figure.

"Wait, you know this guy?" asked Po, who seemed just as confused as everyone else. Shifu ignored him and waited for Bao to answer.

"Ah, Master Shifu. It's been a while." Bao said, standing up and pulling his hood back. The komodo dragon, Bao, gestured for the others to take off their hoods. There stood five other different animals, a marbled cat, a Lynx, a Pallas's cat, a painted bat, and a ferret.

"Shifu, who are these guys?" asked Po in confusion. The others seemed to share his confusion.

"They are the Yōuxiù hòuwèi." explained Shifu.

"Wait, you mean _the_ Yōuxiù hòuwèi. Also known as the Elite Guard of China who track down wanted criminals? These guys are _legends!_" Po said excitedly, his smile soon faded. "But what are they doing _here_? There aren't any criminals in the Jade Palace."

"They think I'm a murderer," Tigress said with no emotion. "Isn't that right Bao?"

"What?" Shifu, Po and the others all ask in simultaneous shock and disbelief.

"This is absurd! How can you possibly believe that Tigress is a murderer?" Shifu demanded, enraged at his old friend for accusing Tigress of a crime she did not commit.

"Shifu, have you heard of the villages that have nearly been destroyed all throughout China?" Bao asked calmly.

"Yes, I have heard rumors," Shifu said, "But what does that have to do with Tigress?" Shifu demanded.

"We have reason to believe that Tigress is involved in these attacks." explained Bao. "There have been rumors as well as accounts from several witnesses from the villages that have been attacked that a masked tiger had been committing these crimes-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Po said, cutting him off, "So you attack Tigress just because she's a tiger? No offence but that doesn't really make much sense. You've got a tiger on your team, why don't you question him or something?"

"He's got a good point." said Crane. The others nodded in agreement. Tigress just stared at the other tiger and wondered who he was and how he came to know her.

"We have reason to believe that Tigress is the one responsible for the attacks." said Bao. "Now if you don't mind, Master Tigress is coming with us." Bao said, stepping toward.

Tigress growled and was about to get into a defensive stance when she suddenly found herself standing behind her friends, her companions standing in between her and the Yōuxiù hòuwèi.

"You have no proof that Tigress is the killer." Shifu stated calmly but there was an edge to his voice.

"And if you mess with Tigress," Po said as he and the others got into fighting stances.

"You mess with us," Viper concluded, making it clear that they were all prepared to do anything to defend their friend.

"Fine, have it your way…" Bao started lifting his hammer in the air, "I had hoped that taking Master Tigress into custody would be with little difficulty…" Bao said before he and the rest of his team, minus Boon, all brought out their weapons and got into fighting stances.

Tigress's ears twitched, she looked up at the roof of a nearby wall and could see a small object roll down the side. Boon and the other big cats of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi noticed it as well. They all watched in mild confusion as the object rolled to a stop in between both groups. Suddenly, before anyone could react, the small object exploded into a thick cloud of white smoke, disorienting the Yōuxiù hòuwèi.

Tigress covered her mouth with her arm. Not too far away she could hear the members of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi coughing in the smoke.

"Find Master Tigress! Do not let her escape!" she heard Bao order the others. Through the smoke, Tigress could see the outlines of several of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi as they began to search for her through the smoke. Suddenly she felt someone grab her wrist. Tigress spun around and saw that it was Po. Before she could say anything he began to drag her through the smoke.

As they began to run through the white smoke, Tigress could hear her friends begin to fight the Yōuxiù hòuwèi. She could feel the ground below her change from stone to grass.

"What are you doing?" she demanded once Po stopped. He looked back, making sure they hadn't been followed.

"Okay, Mantis brought you some time, now run."

"What?" Tigress said in disbelief, wondering when her friends had planned all this. "I'm not running," Tigress said firmly. She couldn't believe that Po was telling her to run.

"And we're not gonna let the Yōuxiù hòuwèi take you." Po said with a seriousness that surprised Tigress.

"I'm _not _running." Tigress said more firmly.

"You have to get away from here Tigress,"

Both Tigress and Po turned to see Viper slither out of the smoke.

"We all know you didn't do anything wrong, but the Yōuxiù hòuwèi won't see that. We'll hold them off long enough for you to get away" she continued. Tigress looked at her two friends, unsure of what to say.

"Tigress, we can't help you if they take you away. You have to go." said Po.

Tigress looked into the panda's green eyes. They all knew it would only be a matter of time until they were found. She realized that Po had still not let go of her wrist. Po seemed to realize this and released his grip on her wrist.

Wordlessly, Tigress ran past Po, jumping on all fours. She ran out of the smoke without turning back. She quickly ran up the steps that lead up to the Jade palace. She swiftly jumped up to the roof. At the top, Tigress looked down below and saw that the courtyard was still filled with smoke.

Tigress leaped gracefully off the roof and began to free fall to the village down below. She spun around in midair. She slid across a roof and landed on another roof nearby. Without turning back she began to run across roof tops. She knew several villagers had seen her leap off the Jade palace and quickly began to make her way through the village.

As Tigress ran, her mind raced. Why would anyone believe she was a murder? Tigress knew she couldn't think about that now. All she could do now was get as far away as possible. As she ran, she glanced over her shoulder to make sure she was not being followed and saw the sign of a familiar noodle shop. Tigress suddenly stopped. She turned back again to make sure no one had followed her. So far no one had.

Moments later Tigress was running across roof tops again. Clenched tightly in her paw was the item she had taken for her friends to later find. Tigress stopped at the entrance of the village and gently placed it on the ground. Without looking back, she began to run again.

To where exactly? Tigress did not know.

Back in the courtyard of the Jade palace, Cai, a painted bat from the Yōuxiù hòuwèi, had finally cleared the smoke with several beats of his wings. On the ground were the ferret, Lynx, and marbled cat from the Yōuxiù hòuwèi who were all tied up in ribbons.

"You allowed her to escape!" Bao yelled at Shifu. Behind Shifu stood Po and the rest of the Furious five. They all hoped that Tigress had gotten far from the village by now.

"You do not have proof that Tigress is the one attacking the villages, Bao. And I refuse to allow you and your team leave until you show me what proof convinced you that my daughter is a killer." argued Shifu.

"Very well," Bao said, lowering his hammer.

Five minutes later Po and the others all stood outside of the building that served as their living quarters. Bao had asked Shifu to allow him and his team to search Tigress' room. He seemed certain that they'd find something that would link Tigress to the attacks. Shifu had reluctantly agreed to allow the search, knowing that they would find nothing and that it would give Tigress more time to run. Shifu had asked Po and the others to wait outside while the Yōuxiù hòuwèi searched Tigress' room.

"What do they expect to find in Tigress's room?" Monkey wondered out loud. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah, and why would anyone even think Tigress would attack innocent villagers?" asked Crane.

"Dunno, but whoever is really attacking the villages is clearly trying to frame Tigress." Po said as he began to pace back and forth.

"Clearly," said Viper.

"Or maybe Tigress has an evil twin or something" Mantis suggested, earning a glare from Viper.

"What are we still doing here? Shouldn't we be looking for Tigress?" Crane asked, lowering his voice.

"You heard what Master Shifu said," Viper said moments before Shifu and the Yōuxiù hòuwèi finally appeared.

"Sssssoooo, did you find any 'evidence?'" Po asked with a bit of sarcasm in his voice, making air quotes as he said evidence.

"As a matter of fact, we did." Bao stated.

"What?" Po asked in confusion.

Instead of answering, Bao held up a simple looking white and black mask along with a long chain, at each ends appeared to be two finely sharpened blades.

"And what's so special about a mask and a chain?" asked Po.

"Witnesses have reported that the tiger who attacked their villages had been wearing a mask such as this one." said Bao

"How do we know you didn't put it there?" Po muttered.

"Bao found it hidden beneath the floor boards under Tigress's bed." Shifu said solemnly. "Along with the weapon villagers had reported seeing the attacker use."

"Wait, Shifu. You don't really believe that Tigress is the killer." Po said in disbelief.

"To be honest I don't know what to believe" Shifu said, not looking at Po as he spoke.

"See? Even your master has come to his senses," said Bao.

"Well, we don't care what you do or say," said Viper.

"There's no way you'll ever convince us that Tigress is the killer." said Crane.

"None of you, well except maybe for Boon" Po said, pointing to Boon before continuing, "Know Tigress like we do, and there's no way we'll sit back and let you accuse her of being a killer. We'll stand by Tigress no matter what you guys say." said Po.

"Very well," Bao said calmly. "Then it is clear that if we allow you to leave this palace, you will no doubt aid a wanted criminal. Penn, Chu hua, and Ty Lin stay here and make sure the Dragon Warrior and what remains of the Furious Five stay here." Bao said to the ferret, marbled cat and the Pallas's cat.

"The rest of you come with me." Bao said as he began walking towards the stairs. Suddenly Shifu materialized in front of Bao, blocking his path.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow you to leave, Bao" Shifu said to the komodo dragon. "I refuse to believe for a moment that Tigress is a murderer. I do not know what has convinced you to believe that it is true, but I do know one thing. There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who are honest, and those who are not. Those who are not you always know they will be dishonest. But for those who are honest, you never know when they will do something unpredictable." Shifu said before disappearing into thin air.

"What the? Where'd he go?" asked Penn, her tail flicking back and forth. Moments later they all realized that not only had Shifu disappeared, but as well as Po and the others. And the fact that they were all suddenly wearing acupuncture hand cuffs.

"What the? HOW DID HE _DO_ THAT?" exclaimed the Lynx named Tybain.

"Well played old friend," Bao chuckled, "Well played."

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><p><strong>AN: **After the Yōuxiù hòuwèi get out of the cuffs and try to leave the palace they get attacked by Shifu 8D…and perhaps also by Po's students XD lolz they may just throw stuff at them like woks or something XD CHAPTER TWO ISH DDDOOONNNEEEE! Aaaaahhhhhhh and I seriously gotta start chapter 3...haha haha been lazy, writing ahead instead of writing in order lolz So, next chapter's gonna probably either start off in Tigress's or Po and the Furious…4?'s POV oh and in case you were wondering, Shifu quoted Captain Jack Sparrow XD

**OMG! **I SSSSSOOOO COULDA SWORN I ALREADY WROTE DOWN CHAPTER 3! GAH DAMN IT SLOW ME! OMG I'M SO SORRY IT'S TAKING FOREVER TO UPDATE!


	3. Riddles and Bridges

**I'M BBBBBAAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK! for now… *otl* hope you've enjoyed the story so far ^^ omg sorry for the late update *otl* been working on a Transformers Divergent fanfic and Lost Generations with RazormusPrime(mah sis) anyways Chapter 3 is up FINALLY!**

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><p>Po and the rest of the furious five all made their way down the village. Instead of taking the stairs, they jumped from the gates, much like Tigress had jumped off the Jade palace, and had all landed gracefully on a roof top down below. Except for Po, who Crane had caught feet before he hit the ground to slow his fall.<p>

And without a second thought, the five of them began to hastily make their way through the village. Viper, Monkey and Mantis ran across rooftops while Crane flew overhead and Po was on the ground(A/N: as in running, not like he was laying on the ground)

"We have to find Tigress before Bao and the Yōuxiù hòuwèi do." Viper said as she came up along side Po.

"How long do you think Master Shifu will be able to distract them?" asked Monkey.

"Dude, this is Master Shifu we're talking about," said Po. The five of them quickly made their way through the village, ignoring the cheers from the villagers that noticed them as they passed.

As they ran by his father's noodle shop, it occurred to Po that they would not be able return to the Valley of Peace for a _long _time. _Sorry dad…_ he thought, knowing that there was no time for goodbyes.

Within minutes, they approach the gates of the Valley of peace. As they approached the gates, a strange sensation passes over Po. Confused, Po stopped in his dead in his tracks as he gazed around in search of the source of the sensation.

"What's wrong, Po?" asked Viper and the others stopped, noticing the panda had stopped.

"It's nothing." reassured Po before Mantis got there attention.

"Hey what's that?" he asked, pointing to something on the ground the arch. As they walked up to it, Po quickly realized what it was.

"Hey, what's this doing out here?" Po asked as he picked up the object in question.

"It's your Tigress action figure." said Crane, recognizing the figurine.

"Tigress probably left it out here for a reason." said Monkey.

"Yeah, look, she left a message." Mantis said, jumping onto Po's shoulder, holding a folded piece of paper in his thingies and handed it to Po.

Po took the peace of paper from his small friend. He unfolded it and began to read it as Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis gathered around him to see what was written on the paper

"What does it say?" asked Viper.

"Does it tell us how to find Tigress?" asked Monkey.

"Uh, I'm not sure…" Po said, sounding confused.

"Lemme see it," Viper said. Po handed the note to the apple green snake.

"_The dragon's cradle, where he had found peace from within, there you will find what you seek_…" Viper read aloud.

"And… what the heck is that suppose to mean?" Po asked, clearly confused, the others seemed to share the same look of confusion.

"Tigress wrote us a riddle on how to find her." explained Viper, remembering the times she and the tiger had played riddle games years ago, not long after they first met.

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><p>Hours later night had already fallen in the mountain ranges. All was quiet in the peaceful valley below the snowy mountain tops. Tigress ran through the valley, the frost on her fur already melted from when she had to travel in the snow.<p>

Tigress had already ran past the Thread of Hope. She was currently running across the mountains beyond the Thread of Hope and was nearly out of the snowy mountain range. So far, Tigress had refused to stop and rest, knowing she had to get as far away as possible. And so she continued to run. To where? She still had no idea.

Night had fallen long ago by the time she came to a stop at a small stream. Tigress panted as she slowly walked up to it. She glanced over her shoulder, glazing past the snowy mountains she had just ran through before kneeling down beside the stream.

Tigress had put much distance between herself and the Jade palace, but she could not shake the feeling that someone would find her there.

Cautiously, she placed her cupped paws into the crystal clear water. She glanced over her shoulder once more to make sure she was alone before bringing her paws up to her mouth to slip the ice cold water.

Once she was finished. Tigress looked up at the star filled sky. She had to keep moving, she thought before getting up in one swift movement. Without turning back she jumped on all fours and began to run again.

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><p><strong>Hours ago(a few hours after Po and the others found the note but not quite nightfall)<strong>

Boon jumped from tree to tree as he followed the rest of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi. His body ached but he continued running along side his team. They soon came to a stop as they approached a long rope bridge. Boon stopped several feet away from the stairs that lead up to the bridge.

He stared up at the large stone arc and read the name of the bridge, _Thread of Hope. _Boon had heard stories of the Furious Five's battle with Tai Lung at that very bridge. Tigress had been willing to risk her life fighting Tai Lung there, why would she suddenly decide to attack defenseless villages and injure several masters?

"C'mon Boon!" the marbled cat, Chu hua, called down to him. She stood at the top of the stairs, her black robe flowing in the wind.

"Keep up, kid!" said Bao. Boon growled under his breath, he hated being called a kid. With one great leap, Boon landed on top of the arc. His long black cloak flowed in the wind as he over looked the vast series of bridged that was respectably named Thread of Hope.

Boon could clearly see how the bridges earned their name, hundreds and hundreds of long rope bridges reaching from mountain to mountain. One would have to first prove their bravery and strength before crossing these bridges. He and the rest of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi had to cross the vast series of bridges on their way to the valley of Peace. And now they must cross again.

Boon was not afraid of heights, he simply disliked all that empty space below him. He hated the thought of crossing the bridge during a storm. He gazed at the bridges that connected the towering mountains to one another, knowing that he was going to have to choose eventually.

Boon flinched slightly as Cai perched himself on his shoulder.

"Still sore?" the painted bat asked, referring to their run in with Master Shifu and the Dragon Warrior's students.

"No," Boon lied, remembering their encounter. Now he knew why they called him _Grand_ Master Shifu. Boon himself was a skilled fighting but his skill was _**nothing**_ compared to Master Shifu. During their fight, Shifu had smacked him in the shoulder with his staff, slightly reopening a healing battle wound that had just closed recently.

That along with humiliatingly being bombarded by the woks Ty Lin had deflected as well as being hit by the woks that were aimed at him, had left Boon with a few bruises. So yeah, he was sore.

Boon looked down at the others who had stopped at the edge. The rope bridge that had been destroyed in the battle with Tai Lung had long been replaced and was now cut and hung against the side of the mountain on the other side of the fog filled chasm.

"They cut the bridge." said Tybain.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Penn said sarcastically as she sat on Ty Lin's shoulder.

"Cai." Bao said without looking up at them. Cai nodded and jumped off Boon's shoulder before diving into the thick fog down below.

Moments later Cai reappeared, holding one end of the rope bridge. It still amazed Boon how strong the small bat was.**(A/N: SUPER BAT! XD)** But he could see Cai struggle against the weight of the rope bridge.

"Ty Lin." Bao said. Without a second thought, the Pallas's cat brought out a long thin chain with grappling hooks at the end and threw it at the bridge as Cai neared them. Boon watched as Bao, Chu hua, Ty Lin, Tybain, and Penn all began to pull on the chain to hoist the bridge up.

Moments later they lifted the bridge back into place. As they did this, Boon gazed past them and stared across the foggy chasm with dull brown eyes.

"The bridge isn't going to be able to hold all of us." he stated plainly, his tail swaying back and forth.

"We cannot allow the Dragon warrior and what remains of the Furious five to find Master Tigress." Bao said calmly. "Cai, you will fly across. Penn and Ty Lin, you two the bridge and stay in pursuit of Master Tigress. The rest of us will find another way across." Bao said, looking up at Boon. "Got it?"

Boon clenched his fists. His heart fell. Bao knew that he was still hoping that Tigress was not a murderer. He'd rather keep him close enough to keep an eye on him than to go ahead with the others. Why? Boon thought. What did he think he was going to do? He just wanted to talk. To and figure out what was going on.

What was it kept Bao from believing that Tigress was innocent? He already knew. He wondered if the same thing had happened to him, he would have stopped believing that Tigress was innocent. No…she _is_ innocent. Boon thought as he gazed down at the rest of his team. His _family…_he was going to have to choose.

"See ya on the other side." Ty Lin said playfully. She glanced up at Boon before she and Penn began to make their way across the bridge. Boon held on to the rope and watched as the two smallest members of the Yōuxiù hòuwèi ran across the bridge, clutching the rope tightly in frustration.

He glared down at the back of Bao's head, who was busy holding on to the ropes of the bridge with the others. Boon knew that if he wanted to catch up to Tigress to speak to her, he would have to cross the bridge now. Boon could see that his two teammates were already halfway across the long bridge. So far it held them both. So far…

_It's now or never…_ Boon thought miserably. He was just about to do the most stupid and reckless thing in this entire existence. He took a deep breath and let go of the rope.

As Bao's muscles strained under the weight of the rope bridge, he noticed a rope fall from above. _What was he…_ Bao thought, moments before in his vison, he could see Boon couching atop the large arc, his muscles coiling as if he was about to… Bao's eyes widened. He wasn't.

Suddenly a streak of orange and black flew over high above them. Bao, Chu hua, and Tybain all watched in shock as the tiger leap over them.

"BOON!" Bao yelled, half in rage and half in utter shock, moments before Boon landed gracefully into a counch over halfway across the bridge in one leap. His sudden weight nearly dragged the three warriors over the edge. Ty Lin and Penn turned around and could see the tiger a few meters behind them.

Without turning back, Boon quickly began to make his way across the bridge. Moments later Ty Lin and Penn reached the other side. Suddenly when he was only a few meters away, the ropes began to snap. Ty Lin reached for the ropes and managed to grab one.

"Boon!" she yelled as the rope bridge slowly began to drag her to the edge.

In one swift leap, Boon landed with a light thud a few feet behind Ty Lin and Penn before the rope slipped out of her grasp.

"NEVER…do that…again…" Ty Lin panted before the four of them, minus Boon, turned back to look at the others.

"Dude! What were you thinking?" demanded Penn as she climbed up onto his shoulder.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." he said plainly before heading to another rope bridge.

Even thought he couldn't see him, Boon could practically feel Bao's golden serpent eyes burning into the back of his head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OMG I'M SUCH A TERRIBLE PERSON! This chapter was short wasn't it? *otl* Again, I'm SO sorry for not updating sooner…*otl* Heheh…I was in a Transformers mood ^^;…damn I really gotta get this story moving along! So yeah, gave ya a look at Boon, hope ya like him :3 Anywhoo, the riddle that Tigress left Po and the others was made my me(SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY RIDDLE! I'M NO GOOD AT RIDDLES) Omg this is so poorly written *otl* I'm sorry I always have these great ideas but never know how to write them so they can sound AWESOME. *otl* damn I wish I was a better writter…I'm no good unless I'm in the writing mood and so far this week I've been in a reading and drawing mood…omg I have no idea when I'll have chapter 4 done cuz it hasn't even been written yet *otl* BUT I SHALL TRY! *is bricked***

**Po: *looks down at me* is she still breathing?**

**Mantis: *jumps on my head* Yup**

**Monkey: *pokes me with a stick***

**Viper: *slaps him* Don't be rude!**

**Crane: Poor human, probably has writer's block or something…(I dun have writer's block! Just a difficult time forming awesome stuff!)**

**Tigress: *walks by, shakes off the brick dust on her paws***

**All: O_O'...**

**Po: Not cool, Tigress!**


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